Deep Water – Lu Hersey

That’s me back from an INCREDIBLY stressful, time consuming year and I’m more than ready to get back to reading.

Recently, I read this book and I have to say it was amazing. I’ve always had a fascination with the sea, and so the beautiful descriptions of this book and the plot had me eagerly turning the pages.

“WHAT IF YOU DISCOVERED YOU WEREN’T WHO – OR EVEN WHAT – YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE?

SUDDENLY PEOPLE START TO FEAR YOU. THEY THIBK YOU’RE EVIL. CURSED. AND THEN THEY WANT TO DESTROY YOU.”
Danni never knew about her family’s strange legacy until her mum disappeared. And now the only way to save those she loves from a living hell is to embrace her incredible new gift – however impossible it seems.”

What I particularly liked about this book was the originality even though the blurb seems almost predictable, like a lot of other books I’ve read. The protagonist, often a teenager, finds out that they have powers and the whole book is them using their powers. In this novel, the author developed the characters more. We see how Danni develops with the new knowledge of her family. Through Danni’s perspective we see we struggle to cope with her mum and her situation.
This book also surprised me when it added an element of romance. Now I’m funny when that comes into books. If I pick up a book expecting it to be romance that’s fine; I hate it when I pick up a book and it becomes romance even though there are lots of other things going on. However, I can see that in this book there was romance but t was essential to move the plot. And it shows that even when you feel like your entire world is changing you can find a source of light in the dark.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely consider seeing if Lu Hersey has written other things as her style of writing is very subtle and beautiful.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon

I have very mixed opinions towards this book. On one hand I understand where the critics were coming from and I thought this book was very good at giving the perspective of a person with Asperger’s. The book was very uniquely written; it was written in first person from Christopher (the main character who suffers from Asperger’s) but I just felt that the book lacked something. 
  

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger’s Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour’s dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down.

This book is extremely popular and for once I just cannot understand why. I understand that it is humourous and I gained a new understanding but it wasn’t an outright jaw dropping, time-stopping novel. But I suppose each to their own taste. 
One thing I enjoyed was the dialogues with Christopher because he was very blunt and took things literally – obviously. This made the conversations rather awkward at times as well as highly amusing for me. But other than that barely anything stood out for me. Considering this book is becoming a musical; I was actually disappointed. But I would recommend reading it because it is a very high read and lots of people like the book – I’ll presume I’m in the minority. 

New Year, New Start…

Right, so last year (after summer) was slightly disastrous, as my posts completely stopped as I had no time to read. And let’s face it… You can’t write a blog about the books you read if there is none…

Anyway….

Happy New Year!!!

So, the main point of this post was to wish you all a happy new year, and to share my blog resolutions with you.

 

Right so I had sit and think about these for a while… Some were easier to think of than others, but I’ve got a list and I want to stick to it:

1. Set aside an hour or so a day to read.
2. Buy a bestseller book once a month.
3. Update my blog once a week, if that’s too difficult maximum gap between posts is two weeks.
4. Start doing competitions (with prizes) once followers increase.

 

So these are a few of my resolutions, but I don’t feel like I’ve covered everything.

If you can think of anything else do not hesitate to comment below!

 

Enjoy 2016!!

2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 240 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Update…

Hey, so…

I know, I’ve been MIA for a while, and I’m sorry. I promise I will have an update before 2015 is over! I’m not going to make lots of excuses, but this year is very busy for me. I apologise!

The Liebster Award

Okay so I have to do this because I was kindly nominated for it by Life Is Sweet In Books. This is actually a real surprise because even though I have a fair few followers, it’s still a great feeling to know that someone is noticing so thank you :D.

The rules are: 

Thank the nominator. (which I’ve done)

Display the award.

Answer the questions

Nominate 10 more bloggers with 10 new questions.

Notify the Nominees

Thank you so much to Lifeissweetinbooks for nominating me and it means a lot. 🙂 Go and check out their blog!

Display the award:

Right, on to the questions

• What is your favourite trilogy?

This was actually really hard to decide so I’m going to have to go with my favourite trilogy of the last year… This would have to be the Maze Runner trilogy (I know there’s a fourth book but it doesn’t really count…)

• What is your favourite genre?

For this I would have to say Sci-Fi, [Mild] Horror or Fantasy. (Clearly a really easy decision for me)

• Hardcover or paperback?

Now this is an easy one. Since I have book OCD, and I need to keep my books pristine. For that reason I absolutely love Hardcover – just one downfall is when they fall flat on your face as you fall asleep.

• Why did you start a blog?

I absolutely love reading, and I’ve always heard that the internet is ”a large place” so I decided it was time to meet people with similar interests. Plus, I needed to become more ”tech-savvy”.

• What book would you recommend to everyone?

1984. This is my absolute FAVOURITE book ever and I swear even though it is really difficult to get into if you’re reading it before your time it is totally worth the struggle!

• If you could visit a book world, what world would that be?

Another really hard question: probably Hogwarts world, Middle Earth and the Deathote world in one.

• What is your favourite quote?

Easy! ”Books are uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King.

• If you could meet a character from a book, what character would that be?

That would probably be Alice Wonder from Insanity. She’s amazing. If I met her I’d cry… Man, I wish I lived in all the books I’ve read.

• Who is your favourtie superhero?

Without a doubt Batman (The Dark Knight). This is super easy as I’ve had these conversations before and I always have to explain why. Yes, Batman may not be super human or have extra weird abilities but he is a super heroic human being. Even though the worst thing happened to him (his parents both died) he doesn’t shrivel up into a bundle of grief. No, he fights – out of his own initiative – all the bad things for his people. That in my opinion is a true superhero (Okay rant over).

• Have you got any secret abilities???

Oh man I wish I did. For years I could swear that I knew what people were going to say next, but it’s probably my over excitable imagination. 

Now I pick my nominees:

Writersmania

Sarah’s Bookshelf

Bookish Reviews

BookPeople’s Blog

Avasterlingauthor

Josbons

Thereadersammy

Corrieluslibrary

Enjoyinglifeadayatatime

Nezrablog.

Okay, all I need to do is notify these people. Below, I’ve listed my questions for them to try.

1. A book you wished you could ban from being published.
2. Favourite Book/ Series.
3. A film that beats the book for you.
4. Why did you start a blog?
5. If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why?
6. If you’re stuck on a desert island, what three things do you take (not food or water)
7. Favourite Genre
8. Favourite time of the day?
9. Favourite Book Couple.
10. Favourite place to read.

The Red Queen – Victoria Aveyard

So, I saw this book a while ago, and put it on my ”I need to read when I have time and money” pile and obviously forgot all about it. Then I got it for my birthday last month and read it in just over a day.  It was amazing! The sheer descriptions and the plot really keep you on your toes. Another thing I loved were the twists. If you’ve read my blog before, you’ll know that I absolutely love plot twists, and this book wasn’t lacking.

The Blurb reads:

“This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart . . .”

Now, I don’t necessarily like dystopian novels. I feel that they are too common now and all you have to do if you want to write a best seller now is pick a plot that revolves around a dystopia and BANG there you have it. However, I really really liked this book. One of the reviews on my book says:

“Red Queen is a clever blend of The Hunger Games, The Selection, Graceling and Divergent.”

Now I’ve only read two of those books, but I feel like Red Queen is a good blend of the best dystopian novels whilst getting rid of the bad, unrealistic parts.

I also think that Victoria Aveyard is a fantastic author, as I loved the voice she gave Mare, and I felt a strong connection through the book even though our lives are nothing like theirs. I’m also really upset because I just missed a chance to meet Victoria Aveyard. However, soon I shall be meeting another author which I shall save for another post.

Lastly, I’d like to apologise for not updating for a while. I’ve been away, without internet at camp for a while. The regular updates start from today – every Sunday and Wednesday – I promise.

So, has anyone else read Red Queen. How did you find it? Also, has anyone read any similar books, cause I’d be interested to give them a try!

The Beach – Alex Garland

I read this book last summer but even though I liked it, I felt that I didn’t really understand it. However, after re-reading it recently I feel that I understand it enough to write about it. Something that particularly struck me about it was the realistic ending to the book. Even though throughout the book there are some surreal elements it keeps the vital element of reality. That is one thing that I think books like these need in order to keep the readers attention because it is relatable.

“Richard lands in East Asia in search of an earthly utopia. In Thailand, he is given a map promising an unknown island, a secluded beach – and a new way of life. What Richard finds when he gets there is breathtaking: more extraordinary, more frightening than his wildest dreams.

But how long can paradise survive here on Earth? And what lengths will Richard go to in order to save it?”

The imagery and descriptions in this book were particularly beautiful. For me this book gave me a sense of how travelling isn’t just a hobby but a way of life for some people. It made me think about how my behaviour affects other people on their holidays and it made me wonder what I’d do if I was in their situation. In all honesty, I may be as bad as Richard.

Another thing I liked about this book was that it was not an “everyone lives happily ever after” sort of book and that made the book so much better. There were real effects and consequences for their actions. There were also a lot of twists, and I’m sure you guys know how much I love twists in a book (especially if I don’t guess them).

So, have any of you read “The Beach” or another book like it? Did you enjoy it?

Messenger Of Fear – Micheal Grant

I have been meaning to read this book for a while, and only recently did I actually pick it up. From the title and front cover alone, this book seems almost dark, and definitely not an easy (happy) read. Imagine my surprise when part-way through the book it seems to turn into a romance. Now, I don’t have anything against the romance genre (except when it’s really cliché) but I definitely I not want this book about death to turn into a “romance with a death god” kinda book.

Thankfully any possibilities of romance disappeared as the images got more dark, and the story began to unfold.

“I remembered my name – Mara. But, standing in that ghostly place, faced with the solemn young man in the black coat with silver skulls for buttons, I could recall nothing else about myself.

And then the games began.

Think you know the meaning of suspense? Think again… The Messenger sees the darkness in young hearts, and the damage it inflicts upon the world. If they go unpunished, he offers the wicked a game. Win, and they can go free. Lose, and they will live out their greatest fear.

But what does any of this have to do with Mara? She is about to find out…”

What I found effective about this book was the simplicity of the plot. It was an easy read until the end. There was a dramatic twist and it shifts your whole perspective, an you can almost feel Maras grief as we have grown to like her through the book. The ending effectively uses suspense (a HUGE cliff-hanger) to will reader to read the next book in the series.

For me, this book is different to other books about dark, supernatural entities. Whilst it’s still unbelievable and clearly fiction; it seems a lot more realistic. This girl begs to learn the trade of someone who offers you death in order to make right her sin(s).

” “Yes, Mara,” he said with a sense of finality, as though now we could begin to understand each other, though I yet understood nothing. “I am the messenger. The Messenger of Fear.” It would be a long time before I came to know him by any other name.”

1984 – George Orwell

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

This book is my ultimate favourite book, and just by looking at the opening line surely you can get a sense of why. The paradox created by the clocks striking thirteen adds a sense of mystery whilst it makes perfect sense. Throughout the whole book Orwell cleverly creates a sense of paranoia felt by everyone, and the beauty of a few minutes peace for Winston and Julia.

“Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Winston finds love with Julia, he discovers a life that does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities. Despite the police helicopters that hover and circle overhead, Winston and Julia begin to question the Party; they are drawn towards conspiracy. Yet Big brother will not tolerate dissent – even in the mind. For those with original thoughts they invented Room 101…”

The simplicity of what Winston craves – privacy – is so deeply central to this book that all of us in 2015 can symphathise. Of course we love our privacy, and this book revolves around the lack of that. The quote: “Big brother is watching you” is possibly the most well known quote in this book. 1984 is quite difficult to read language wise, but if you persist, it’s well worth it!

I didn’t love this book because of the plot (which is really good) but because Orwell didn’t write an extremely elaborate book. He knew that his book would make politics interesting, and urge everyone to think about politics. His simple but realistic dystopian world actually made me think for a few days. With the amount of CCTV and “security” things used there could easily come a time when it is even difficult to keep our inner thoughts private. Even in 1948 when he wrote it, Orwell has created such a book that is still relevant, and will be relevant for years to come.

“War is Peace

 Freedom is Slavery

Ignorance is Strength”